Bryan's Blog

1 Week until my big group networking event in Irvine on 12/4.

So far there's been a great response and we should have a really good turn out. Looking forward to seeing everyone there. Let me know if you didn't get the RSVP and I'll send it to you. My email is:

1goodbrain@gmail.com

-Bryan

Group Event in Irvine on 12/4: Two Weeks Away!

This is a reminder that our group networking event in Irvine on 12/4 is Two Weeks Away!

Who, What, Where, When info about the event-------follow this link.

• Special guest speaker Mari Smith, Facebook for Business and social media marketing guru
• Complimentary food & drinks
• Hook-Ups to The Sports Club LA- Orange County
• Great networking opportunity

Hope to see you there!

So Cal Action Sports Network Event: Thurs Dec 4th, 6:30-9:00 pm

This is our second event but First Big get-together! Come join us on Thurs Dec. 4th from 6:30 pm for food & drinks.

You need to RSVP and pre-register for this event; there is a $25 fee. RSVP on our new site: www.socalactionsportsnetwork.com/category/events . Click the RSVP button at the bottom of the Event page. Fill out the registration fields, submit the form and follow it to the final Google Checkout page where you can securely make your payment. Walk-in's are also okay, but the fee will be $40 at the door.

* There will be complimentary beer, wine and finger food from 6:30-8:00 pm--cash bar until 9 pm

* Special guest speaker and famed Facebook for Business expert, Mari Smith. Mari is one of the foremost respected experts (possibly in the world) on Facebook for business and other social media marketing. She offers a variety of training programs for companies and individuals that normally cost $1,000+. So the $25 registration fee can be considered a giant Hook-Up. 

* Casual networking before and after Mari's presentation

* Our title sponsor The Sports Club LA- Orange County also has a special Hook-Up for us: All members in attendance will receive a FREE 1-Week access pass to the club.

Who:
You + your significant other or friends in the industry who aren't members of the group yet. We know it's more fun to attend an event with someone you know, so go ahead and bring a date--they can enjoy the Hook-Ups too. Just have them RSVP and register online and pay the $25 fee or Walk-in fee of $40.

We also welcome new prospective members. Visitors should RSVP and register online and pay the $25 fee or Walk-in fee of $40.

Where & When: Thurs Dec. 4th 6:30-9:00 pm.

The Sports Club / LA - Orange County
1980 Main Street
Irvine, CA 92614

Hope to see you!

-Bryan Elliott
Chairman, So Cal Action Sports Network
www.socalactionsportsnetwork.com
Tel. 714 318-6086

Leverage

According to the Wiki post I checked, the word Leverage is derived from "lever". In physics, a lever (from French lever, "to raise", c.f. a levant) is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object. This leverage is also termed mechanical advantage, and is one example of the principle of moments.

Leverage comes in many forms. For example, a group of people (large and small--it depends) who have formed a group and who share a common interest and common goal, have leverage in certain situations. Take Al Gore and the thousands of enlightened people just in the US who have adopted Green Thinking. Once just a small contingency of odd ducks buying electric cars, recycling and riding their bikes everywhere, has gained public popularity--leverage--and become the status quo.

Seth Godin wrote a great post on a related topic this week where he outlined how to use leverage to make money via the internet--brilliant post.

Cash is also leverage. For example, you need a project done by a certain deadline... Most of the time you can throw more money at the folks with your fate in their hands and it will get done. (Most of the time) Money talks--loudly. Cash: like a bully that can kick the 4 or 5 kids ahead of you out of the way in the lunch line, propelling you to the front, is leverage.

What's your leverage and how are you using it to your advantage?

"Surprise! I see you!"

Great article by JRMP last week about how recruiters and HR folks are searching social media to peek at what you're up to...

Here's what they said: "Job seekers beware! Many Human Resource (HR) professionals have jumped on the social networking bandwagon. As more and more potential employees join the various social networks out there (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Myspace just to name a few), the information one can ascertain from a simple Internet search is unreal. This definitely changes the meaning of a background check.

So what does this mean for the recruiting world? Plenty! Get familiar with social networking and the platforms out there. If it is not already a part of your company’s hiring process to check out potential candidates on social networks, it will be soon. In fact, there are platforms out there geared towards recruiters that allow you to search most of the popular social networks by entering in an email address or name. Spokeo is one of the major providers in this arena.

Here are some tips and tricks for HR professionals to navigate their way through the social networking maze.

- For free searches, simply type the candidate’s name in a major search engine like Google or Yahoo. The results you get are very comprehensive.

- Check out the major social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, Twitter, or Myspace. Most of these platforms have a comprehensive search feature that allows you to enter in multiple criteria.

- Join the social networks yourself. These are good recruiting tools to find excellent talent that may not have applied for the position.

- Try searching for people on networks that capture information from several other social networking sources.Twellow is a pretty good one.

Make sure to share your best practices too by leaving a comment!

The signs of something good...

I've tried a lot of things in my life. Some ventures have been fairly successful and others have failed. I seem to be one that often learns things the hard way--some might call it trial and error. But the one constant over the years has been that every great idea, creation, doodle, invention, plan--was met with opposition.

This opposition hasn't come by way of lack of financing, barriers to entry in a market, resources or otherwise. My main source of opposition have been people. People telling me that my idea is crazy. People saying my creation isn't worth much. People mocking my invention. People shooting holes in my plan.

I think opposition is a sure sign that your plan has merit. I'm pretty sure none of the notable visionaries (and I'm NOT one of them--just inspired by their tenacity) coasted into easy street. They had to break the status quo. Go against the grain. Think differently. I'm thinking about Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, Gates, Jobs, etc...

People were their main obstacle and yet they persisted. Take comfort in signs of something good. After all, people have been known to be wrong before, right?

Hook-Ups: FREE Frozen Yogurt coupon at Golden Spoon

If you missed out on Wahoo's, that's okay
because you can still have dessert!

Hook-Ups: FREE Frozen Yogurt at the Golden Spoon!
----------------------------------

[Special So Cal Action Sports Network Hook-Up]

Download, print and bring in Download Golden Spoon coupon with you to the shop for your FREE  8 oz. Frozen Yogurt. The shop address is:23571 El Toro Road Suite C Lake Forest, CA 92630.

Be sure and say hello and thanks to group member and shop owner Reed Barnes for the free cold one!

It’s cool to print this coupon out and use it multiple times. But let’s remember this is Frozen Yogurt people, not Tofu. Eat in moderation. Did you know the US Department of Health suggests eating up to 8 oz. of Frozen Yogurt per day? Neither did we.

So we’re doing our part to help you stay on a healthy diet by limiting you to 2 free one’s per person per visit. 

That’s right, you can get 2 per visit if you print out 2 copies. Go ahead and bring in a friend. Or impress your date with your super awesome connections at Golden Spoon by getting them a FREE Frozen Yogurt too!

Coupon Expires 12/31/08.

Marketer's credo

I was just re-reading Seth Godin's book "Unleashing the Ideavirus"

One of the most memorable quotes (and it actually came from Malcolm Gladwell who wrote the Foreword) really resonated with me today again:

[The marketer is not--and ought not to be--at the center of successful marketing. The customer should be. Are you ready for that?"

So Cal Action Sports Group Event

Bryan & Dave Novick

The event today was great!

Thanks to Ladera Cyclery and crew ad everyone who joined us, we had a blast.

What is the value of SEO?

What is the value of SEO? What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a blend of art and science. It involves the movement of independent variables to get better indexing and placements with search engines. SEO analysis and reporting are great tools to help map your brand with the demand as seen on the search engines. SEO experts will measure and keep track of your site’s keyword density, search engine saturation, link popularity and other metrics of content relevancy. 

Basically, a search engine has three components:

1. a robot spider to crawl the Internet grabbing HTML from servers
2. an internal filtering system to evaluate, organize and rank the HTML for relevance
3. an index where it compiles all its data and arranges it for distribution.

When you create search engine friendly content, the result is intelligent content that delivers the right message to the right people right where they are looking for it.

Keyword development, optimal bid management, rules-based bidding, geographic targeting, A/B testing and segmented categorization are just some of the tactics and techniques used to maximize the typical search engine marketing campaign.